I find it very interesting that some countries make a point of keeping the wearing of traditional dress alive and some don't. On my visit to Sweden and Norway this summer I wanted to find out about traditional dress, since I was exploring my Swedish roots (from my father's side) this trip.
My mother's family (back a couple generations) comes from southern Germany. This is a photo my husband took 18 years ago when we took our summer vacation there. The Germans love to dress in dirndls and lederhosen. We saw people all over, even as audience members at the theater dresses this way.
I made a point of shopping for fabrics, patterns and buttons so I could make my own when I got back home. They are SUPER expensive to buy ... yes, that's me 18 years ago!
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My Swedish cousin said they didn't really wear the national costume much. BUT, when I got to Norway, I started seeing stores all over the place wear you could buy the national costume for the whole family! Cool!
The Norwegians seem to like to dress traditionally for festivals and special occasions like the Germans do.
The Norwegians seem to like to dress traditionally for festivals and special occasions like the Germans do.
Bunad (Norwegian plural: bunader) is a Norwegian umbrella term encompassing, in its broadest sense, a range of both traditional rural clothes (mostly dating to the 19th and 18th centuries) as well modern 20th-century folk costumes.
Wikipedia article about Norwegian National dress.
Wikipedia article about Norwegian National dress.
We saw a group of people wearing the Bunad when we visited Oslo's spectacular City Hall. It looked like they were celebrating a christening. There was a tiny baby in a christening gown. I REALLY wanted to ask to take a better photo that this one I secretly took, but I really couldn't barge into their party!
The Norwegians even dress in the different regional styles. I imagine they dress according to where their family was originally from.
Sweden, too, had different styles all around the country back in the day, as this illustration shows. But they don't seem to have kept the tradition alive the same way as Norway has.
According to what I've just read on line, rural people in Sweden in the early 20th Century would have still been wearing clothes like this. I wonder what my great-grandfather was wearing as he stepped off the boat in 1901?
According to what I've just read on line, rural people in Sweden in the early 20th Century would have still been wearing clothes like this. I wonder what my great-grandfather was wearing as he stepped off the boat in 1901?
The Swedes who do dress up on their National Day now seem to wear a kind of homogenized blue and yellow outfit like this. It's a very different philosophy of national tradition.
But why is this? I've been trying to figure out how the Swedes and Norwegians are different. From the outside so much of their culture seems the same ... hmmm. I know some of you reading these blogs know more about Scandinavia than I do. I would love some thought on this subject. I find it fascinating.
But why is this? I've been trying to figure out how the Swedes and Norwegians are different. From the outside so much of their culture seems the same ... hmmm. I know some of you reading these blogs know more about Scandinavia than I do. I would love some thought on this subject. I find it fascinating.
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